


Reflect and Remember

by TrebleRose89



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Complete, Emotional, Gen, M/M, Oneshot, Sad, tragic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21701992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrebleRose89/pseuds/TrebleRose89
Summary: Runaan lies alone in the dark human dungeon, awaiting his fate and thinking about those he leaves behind...(A very short and emotional/angsty oneshot about some of things poor Runaan was thinking while sitting in that cell. Just a pointless little way for me to get out some of my Runaan FEELS as I impatiently wait for him to be freed from that coin!)
Relationships: Runaan/Ethari, Runaan/Tinker | Necklace Elf (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	Reflect and Remember

Despite what he told his human captors each time they visited his dark, cold cell, Runaan was painfully aware that he was  _ not _ , in fact, yet dead. 

His entire body was in agony. The wounds the filthy human guards had left him with were still terribly sore, but they were nothing now compared to the state of the rest of his slowly-wasting body. His left arm throbbed unbearably as its binding tightened with each passing day, and the cold metal of his shackles bit relentlessly into the skin of his wrists. His muscles ached with the strain of being forced into such an awkward position on that cold stone floor. His head throbbed and his stomach burned, no doubt from the days he’d gone without food or water.

His years of training and discipline ensured that his beaten face showed no sign of his constant agony, but deep in his heart, Runaan longed for the freedom his impending death would finally bring… And it was not only the physical torment he wished to leave behind. 

Runaan had been expecting a quick death at the hands of the humans, once the job was complete. In fact, he’d selfishly been  _ hoping _ for it. The flash of a blade, a brief moment of pain, perhaps... Then it would all be over. But instead he’d been cursed with…  _ this.  _ Sitting alone on the cold, damp floor of a filthy human dungeon, countless miles away from his home. Alone with nothing but his thoughts.

And it was these thoughts that made the pain in his heart so much more agonizing than the pain in his body.

_ Forgive me, my love,  _ Runaan thought for what had to be the thousandth time. He’d broken the promise he’d made when he’d left the Silvergrove for the last time — that he would come back home again. That he would return Ethari’s heart to him, safe and sound.

It was the final promise he would ever make to his husband… And the first and only one he would ever break.  _ Your heart dies here in this cold prison… But mine will live on forever with you.  _

Runaan knew how foolish it was to have these imaginary conversations with his husband. Ethari was so far away from him now, in more ways than one. He would never see him again. Never hear his voice. Never feel him in his arms. Ethari was nothing but a memory to him now — a fleeting source of comfort in a dying man’s weary mind as he awaited the inevitable.

But that comfort was mixed with a terrible pain and fear... Not of death, of course. Runaan had accepted his fate from the moment the humans learned of their mission. No, it was the fate of those he left behind that he now feared.

_ Rayla, you fool _ , he thought almost bitterly.

What had she been thinking? Ethari was right… she was far too kind-hearted for a mission like this. She wasn’t ready. It was a mistake bringing her with them — one that had not only cost the rest of them their lives, but now probably Rayla’s own as well.

Why couldn’t she have listened? Why didn’t she stay put where he’d told her to? And how could she have fallen for the humans’ trick so easily? Surely she’d played exactly into their hands. That egg simply couldn’t have been real. And even if it was, there was no way the humans would ever let her take it from the castle.

His mind raced with worry as he wondered what sort of cruel fate had befallen her. Would Rayla already be there, waiting to greet him on the other side? Runaan’s heart ached at the thought. The possibility that she might be dead was almost too unbearable to even imagine.

Rayla may not have been his daughter by blood, but he’d always loved her like one. Did she know that, he wondered? Had he told her often enough? Did she understand, despite everything that had happened, just how proud he was of her?

Runaan found himself facing very few regrets as he drew closer and closer to the end of his life… But being too hard on Rayla was certainly one of them.

He’d never been one to believe in miracles, but as he sat there in the dark dungeon that would soon become his tomb, Runaan wished for one — that somehow, Rayla would survive. That she would make it back to the Silvergrove. That the two remaining pieces of his heart would find each other again.

_ Please, go home to him, Rayla _ , Runaan silently begged.  _ He needs you. _

An image suddenly crossed his mind then — one that was almost too terrible to bear. Ethari, sitting silently by the pool, bathed in moonlight as he watched and waited for the inevitable. Surely he’d seen the other flowers sink that first night. And now, Runaan knew, it was only a matter of time before his own vanished beneath the crystal blue surface of the water as well. 

Who would be there to comfort his beloved husband when that moment arrived? Even if she lived, surely Rayla would not make it back to Xadia in time. Would he be forced to face it alone?

_ Ethari is strong, _ Runaan reminded himself.  _ So much stronger than he realizes.  _ He would be alright. And, with any luck, so would Rayla. They would go on without him… They had to now.

Runaan let out an involuntary groan of discomfort. He was so tired, but his body ached too much for sleep to find him. It would only be a matter of time before that damned human mage returned anyway, with his smug smile and incessant questioning. Perhaps this time he would finally realize that Runaan was of no use to him. Maybe he would finally end things once and for all. Perhaps the release Runaan craved was closer than he’d thought.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he calmed some of the thoughts that had been plaguing his dying mind. It was a waste to let himself continue to worry. His life was dwindling away, and so too was his time to reflect and remember all the precious things he would leave behind.

A warmth overtook him then as the dark, cold dungeon around him seemed to melt away. 

And, for a few blissful moments, his mind was full of the beautiful glittering of moonlight; the sweet sound of Rayla’s laughter; and the warmth of a large, rough hand entwined with his. 


End file.
